Day 328: Viola Sonatas, Piano Trio in A

BrahmsCD22There’s something about the first composition (Sonata for Viola & Piano in F minor Op. 120 No. 1) that drew me in from the opening notes.

It still sounds like two instruments – piano and viola – are playing different pieces of music.

But, at least the music they’re playing is compelling.

What I’m listening to today:

Sonata for Viola & Piano in F minor Op. 120 No. 1

All four movements of this sonata are well done. I even detected a bit of melody amidst all the notes.

I thought Movement III (“Allegretto grazioso”) was good. But Movement IV (“Vivace”) kicked my keister.

Op. 120 No. 1 is terrific.

Here’s an article about it publishing on the LA Philharmonic web site. It indicates that this sonata was composed in 1891. If that’s true, Brahms was 58.

Sonata for Viola & Piano in E flat Op. 120 No. 2

This sonata is also quite good. The piano is well recorded. As is the viola. Very crisp. But organic. Real sounding.

My favorite of the three movements is Movement II (“Allegro appassionato”). The melody is wonderful. And it lasts longer than 10 seconds! I’m not sure what happened. Maybe Brahms had a moment of weakness and he allowed a melodic line to repeat for awhile.

If I read the above-linked article (from the LA Philharmonic) correctly, it seems to indicate that sonata No. 2 was written in 1894. If so, Brahms was 61.

Piano Trio in A Op. posth

This is haunting, not only in the recording – which gives the piano in a kind of Chopin-as-played-by-Rubinstein tone – but in the music itself.

I suppose the abbreviation “posth” means posthumous. As in, this was published after Brahms died.

According to its entry on Wiki:

The Piano Trio in A major, attributed to Johannes Brahms, published posthumously, is scored for piano, violin and cello. Brahms is reported to have destroyed many of his works that did not meet up to his own high standards. One of the rare exceptions to have unintentionally escaped the flames was this piano trio which was discovered and published after the composer’s death.

Who’s playing the music today:

Nobuko Imai viola (tracks 1-7)
Harris Goldsmith piano (tracks 1-7)

Leonardo Trio (tracks 8-11)
Jaap Kooi piano
Frank de Groot violin
Koen Schouten cello

Against my better judgment, I’m going to have to call this a Favorite Brahms CD.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *